[Patiala,Pb] Captain Crosses Fire with Akali General in Battle for Ancestral Patiala. Capt’s Third Generation is also supporting Cong’s Legend
ex-Captain Amarinder Singh seeks to retain his hold over the land whose destiny was determined by his forefathers.
Patiala is the pocket borough of Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh.
He has been declared Congress’s CM candidate.His opponent is Gen (retd) J J Singh of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal, with a resurgent AAP hoping to Catch a Fall .
Capt has won this seat thrice in the past.
He has improved upon the victory margin with every election.
In 2012, he had won the seat by about 40,000 votes, despite visiting the constituency only twice. First, for filing his nomination papers and then to address a public meeting.
This time also, he has been seen only once when he came down to file his nomination on January 17. Before that he went around the city paying obeisance at Qila Mubarak, the seat of power from where the founder of Patiala state and his ancestor Baba Ala Singh ruled his kingdom.
He also went to the Kali Mata Temple and the Dukhniwaran Gurdwara before filing his nomination papers.
This was followed by a road show
In 1947, a large population of refugees from Pakistan settled here.
The then ruler, Maharaja Yadvinder Singh settled these people and provided them amenities.
The bonding continues even now. The grateful Patialvis have expressed their gratitude with repeated emphatic wins of Amarinder and his family members from the constituency.
The Akali Dal fielded General (retd) J J Singh, the first Sikh to have become the Army chief, against him.
“For the first time in history a General will be defeated by a Captain”, a confident Amarinder said while reacting to Singh’s nomination.
As Amarinder is busy stumping for party candidates elsewhere, his wife and former Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur and daughter Jaya Inder Kaur hold the fort for him.
They have always done that for Amarinder. This time, it is the third generation as well with Amarinder’s granddaughter Seher Inder Kaur also joining the campaign.